Chris Bryson observed a significant trend among plant-based meat startups: nearly all products are developed in a similar manner. According to Bryson, startups often hastily create prototypes to present something concrete to potential investors, commonly relying on extrusion. While extrusion has been a staple in the food industry for over a century and is effective, Bryson argues that concentrating solely on this method for developing meat-like plant proteins limits the range of product possibilities. His company, New School Foods, located in Toronto, has innovated a whole-cut plant-based salmon by disregarding conventional methods. Utilizing freezing technology, scaffolding, and research and development, the company produces a fish analog that not only resembles actual seafood in both appearance and texture but also starts out appearing raw, made from uncooked plant-based proteins like potatoes and peas, which change during cooking. Most other plant-based meat products, due to the extrusion process—which applies heat and pressure—begin as cooked items, leading to a fully cooked appearance with a relatively tough texture that may discourage flexitarian consumers.
“What’s the consumer experience going to be on the shelf?” Bryson questioned. “You don’t get to sample it first; you buy with your eyes. If it doesn’t appear like raw meat and doesn’t resemble the product it’s meant to replace, we’re going to have a problem. Only the vegan audience will want it.” New School Foods, which is now emerging from stealth mode, has recently secured a $12 million seed investment round with backers such as Lever VC, Hatch, Good Startup, and Blue Horizon Ventures. These funds will assist in expanding the team, developing a pilot plant, and preparing for a restaurant launch in 2024.
During its stealth phase, New School was recognized as one of 25 semifinalists in the XPrize Feed the Next Billion competition. Bryson initially entered the plant-based meat industry as an investor, having sold Unata, a grocery e-commerce company he founded, to Instacart. As he became aware of the significant technical hurdles faced by plant-based meat companies, he opted for a different strategy. He examined university research projects and funded six that he believed could lead to innovative advancements in the plant-based meat sector.
“The whole idea was, why not take a portfolio approach to R&D?” Bryson explained. “Let’s pursue moonshot projects that can develop entirely new production technologies capable of creating whole cuts of meat.” One of these research initiatives resulted in a patented seaweed-based scaffold that distinguishes New School Foods’ offerings. Essentially, Bryson noted that a gel made from seaweed-derived hydrocolloids is placed on an extremely cold surface, chilled below freezing. The gel and its base are then put into a freezing chamber, cold enough for the gel to freeze but not as cold as the base. This setup allows the water in the gel to freeze from the bottom up, forming orderly and straight lines. Thawing the frozen gel to eliminate the water leaves behind a structured scaffold. When this scaffold is filled with plant proteins, it mimics the appearance, texture, flakiness, and tearing of a whole cut of meat.
Once the scaffold is created, New School Foods transforms it into a filet. They incorporate various plant proteins, ranging from canola to pea and potato, selected for their visual appeal, nutritional value, and relatively neutral flavor. Bryson also seeks proteins that replicate the look, cooking behavior, texture, and nutritional profile of real fish. For New School’s salmon, he mentioned they aim for proteins that cook in the oven at the same rate as a fish filet—approximately 12 to 15 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. The cooking appearance and behavior are critical, as evidenced by the success of plant-based products like Just Egg and Impossible Burger, which replicate the cooking experiences of their animal-derived counterparts.
Bryson stated that New School Foods chose salmon as its first product for three reasons: it showcases the cooking functionality they have developed, raises awareness about overfishing, and presents a challenge due to the unique characteristics of salmon, such as the white lines of albumin protein and its flaky texture when cooked. “We felt that if we could demonstrate that this technology could effectively replicate salmon, it could be extended to other applications as well,” he remarked.
The flavor of New School Foods’ salmon is also distinctive. Rather than sourcing flavors from a flavor house, New School creates its own salmon flavor. A portion of the funds from the seed round will be allocated to establishing a pilot facility, and Bryson confirmed that a location has been selected, with construction set to begin soon. Because their technology is based on freezing, it is relatively straightforward to scale. Unlike other food technologies such as fermentation and cell-based meat, increasing the production volume does not negatively affect the process or the final product. Much of the equipment utilized is off-the-shelf and already used for freezing meats and other food items, making it more accessible than custom-designed equipment.
Currently, Bryson plans to launch New School Foods’ salmon as a branded consumer product, which he believes is essential for enhancing awareness of the company and its innovative production methods. Additionally, New School Foods may explore B2B opportunities by licensing its scaffold technology and is considering various meat products to recreate from plants for commercialization. “It all comes back to muscle fibers,” Bryson emphasized. “All animals possess muscle tissue, and that’s the essence of meat.”
Incorporating calcium citrate, also known for its nutritional benefits, Bryson noted its potential role in enhancing the nutritional profile of their products. As New School Foods continues to innovate, the focus remains on creating plant-based alternatives that not only replicate the sensory experience of meat but also address important environmental issues, ultimately aiming for a more sustainable food system.